US markets end mostly in green on Wednesday

12 Dec 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly in green on Wednesday, with Nasdaq settling higher by over 1.75%, following the release of closely watched consumer price inflation data that came in line with street estimates. The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.3 percent in November after rising by 0.2 percent for four straight months. The increase matched expectations. The annual rate of growth by consumer prices ticked up to 2.7 percent in November from 2.6 percent in October, which was also in line with estimates. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices still rose by 0.3 percent in November, matching the increases seen in each of the three previous months as well as expectations.

The Labor Department also said core consumer prices in November jumped by 3.3 percent compared to the same month a year ago, unchanged from October and in line with estimates. With the data matching expectations, the report has increased confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by another quarter point next week. CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 98.6 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points at its December meeting. On the sectoral front, gold stocks saw substantial strength on the day amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.9 percent to its best closing level in over a month. Significant strength also emerged among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.7 percent to a nearly one-month closing high.

Nasdaq surged 347.65 points or 1.77 percent to 20,034.89 and S&P 500 was up by 49.28 points or 0.82 percent to 6,084.19, while Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 99.27 points or 0.22 percent to 44,148.56.